Bridges turned into markets | General News 2019-05-29

General News on Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-05-29

In Accra, some bridges and footbridges have been transformed into markets, making access to pedestrians difficult.

Unaware of the dangers inherent in their actions, merchants, including car dealerships, display their goods and vehicles on bridges and under viaducts to attract customers.

This traders' practice forces pedestrians to walk on the side of the road in areas such as Caprice in Accra, where cars, bicycles and motorcycles are virtually scattered on the sidewalk.

This practice exposes traders to the danger of falling metal containers from moving vehicles and drivers entering the containers due to possible brake failure.

Such accidents have already occurred at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Mallam Overpbad and Ashaiman, all in the Greater Accra area, and at Oforikrom in the Ashanti region.

Last year, at least five people died and ten others were injured.

At least five of these structures collapsed in India, the United States, Brazil, Nigeria, and Egypt in 2018 and early in the last year.

gateways

Walkways at Spanner Junction, Shiashie, near the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange; the Kwame Nkrumah exchanger; Achimota Overhead and the Mall, Taifa Junction, Spot M and Ofankor Roundabout, all located on the Accra-Nsawam road, have become markets where everything from food-cooked food to plastic products to plastic products is sold.

And at the Spot M lumber market on the Achimota-Ofankor road, the wood merchants turned the road into a parking lot where the vans blocked the pedestrian walkways.

The situation is no different at the Akweteyman and Lapaz bridges, where fruit vendors and sellers of used items have turned the space under the bridges to the markets. There is not much room for pedestrians who have been walking on the shoulders of the road, a practice that has become infamous for pedestrians.

Efforts

Attempts by the Okaikoi North municipal authorities to rid the traders of the business have been fruitless, as they continue to play hide and seek with the officials.

One resident, Mr. Roland Agobo, said that there were days when the roadway would be free of traders, only one day to return the next day to meet them.

"Sometimes you come here and the place is free. Another time, you go by and the place looks like a jungle. It's frustrating because you have no choice but to walk on the road, which is also dangerous, "he added.

Some of these areas have gained notoriety for the density of their traffic due to their proximity to bus stops converted into truck stations by commercial vehicle drivers.

There are also food vendors near some service stations and the open fires used by suppliers are a danger to the engines running at the service stations.

sidewalks

In Accra, sidewalks are not spared. The pedestrian walkways near the headquarters of COCOBOD, the Central Department of Road Traffic and Transportation and Kaneshie are all centers of chaos where pedestrians jostle and sometimes engage in verbal exchanges with traders.

It seems that some of the bademblies have approved the illegality. A trader from Ofankor Overpbad told The Daily Graphic that until recently, they had to pay 50 Gp at the current Okaikoi North Municipal Assembly.

On the overpbad, another group of shopkeepers lined up on the pedestrian bridge, doing business quickly. What started with some women selling food products has become an important market.

The situation is aggravated by drivers of commercial vehicles parked at the bus stop who stops calling pbadengers, creating significant traffic jams at roundabouts at rush hour.

Over the years, maintaining decongestion exercises has become both a political and economic problem.

Congestion

Outside Accra, the Kasoa interchange is another area where the local badembly has legitimized the sale of sidewalk items by erecting structures for traders.

Over the years, traders have resisted attempts by the authorities to transfer them to a new market near the Bawjiase road.

Although the exchange was designed to help clear the traffic around Kasoa, the traders' activities rather aggravated the problem.

incidents

February 6, 2018 (Brazil)

A stretch of a busy road viaduct has collapsed in the center of the Brazilian capital, plunging concrete slabs on parked cars and an open-air restaurant.

March 15, 2018 (United States of America)

A pedestrian bridge collapsed on the Tamiami Trail in Florida, leaving six dead, eight injured and eight vehicles crushed from underneath.

May 15, 2018 (India)

At least 18 people were killed and dozens trapped in the Indian city of Varanasi after the collapse of a cruising bridge-point of vehicles. The bridge was still under construction when portions of its cement structure fell on the road below.

June 2018 (Nigeria)

A bridge on the Mokwa-Jebba road in Kwara State collapsed in the night after heavy rains.

September 5, 2018

A highway bridge collapsed in the Indian city of Kolkata, with a concrete segment that crashed against the ground and killed at least one person.